SINGAPORE - A train fault hit the East-West Line at Jurong East and Clementi stations on Tuesday (Oct 25) morning, affecting commuters who complained of being stuck in trains.

Platforms at both stations were packed with commuters during the morning rush hour, according to several posts on social media.

SMRT's vice-president for corporate information and communications Patrick Nathan said in a statement that an east-bound train leaving Jurong East station had encountered a signal fault at about 6.50am.

"The train captain was able to recover the fault, and the train was turned back to Jurong East station where passengers were detrained before the train was pulled out of service," explained Mr Nathan.

"We apologise to passengers who had their commute affected this morning, and will be investigating the cause of the fault."

Twitter user @SteveChee2 said the fault lasted for about 40 minutes, while others said SMRT had announced an additional 10 minutes of travelling time due to the fault.

According to sales assistant Jackson Teo, 20, the Clementi-bound train he was on had been travelling slowly before an announcement was made that it could not continue.

"The train stopped between Clementi and Jurong East stations for a while before it moved back to Jurong East station," Mr Teo told The Straits Times.

"We were then told to alight and wait for the next train."

Another Twitter user, @Foodie_TL, said he was stuck on the same train for more than 20 minutes, calling it his "longest train ride" from Jurong to Clementi.

The fault was the third glitch suffered by the East-West Line in a week. Last Tuesday, a track fault caused delays of up to 20 minutes between Tanah Merah and Bugis stations.

Three days later, a west-bound train near Dover station had its brakes stuck during the morning rush hour, which resulted in a longer travelling time from Queenstown to Jurong East stations.